“You have to take that risk,” Williams said. “Knowing that I could fail, but at least I’m trying to do something. Now in the area in you fail, you have to assess why did I fail? Is it something that I neglected to do?”

“There’s always a lesson to learn in your failure,” Williams said.
Williams says she hopes to give students that confidence to chase their dreams.

Michelle Williams, award-winning singer, actress and entrepreneur, has been underestimated before. But she has never let that stop her from believing in and achieving her dreams.

On Wednesday (April 20), Williams — widely known as being one-third of Destiny’s Child, one of the most successful female musical groups of all time — was the keynote speaker at a Lunch and Learn hosted by the University of Notre Dame’s Office of Institutional Equity in partnership with the University’s Building Leadership Excellence professional development program.

Referencing the event’s theme, “Women of Color Leading in Excellence and Working toward a More Equitable Society,” Williams encouraged traditionally underrepresented groups to be empowered to speak up for themselves when given the opportunity and to avoid apologizing for who they are.

“I’ve been in some rooms and meetings where I didn’t have a voice at the table because of my inexperience or newness. But, of course, when I proved myself, my experience and value afforded me a voice at the table,” she said. “Use your voice when given the opportunity. Women of color, I never want us to sit at the table with negative energy or disposition saying, ‘Well, I’m a woman, so …’ Be confident.”

In Williams’ own life, she said that speaking up led to a chance invitation to audition for a background singing job with R&B singer Monica. That job eventually led to Williams meeting Beyonce Knowles and Kelly Rowland, the other two members of Destiny’s Child, who were the opening act for one of Monica’s concerts. Williams also revealed that she wishes she had advocated more strongly for herself as music executives pushed for her to be known professionally by her birth name, Tenetria, rather than her middle name of Michelle.

“Trust your instincts. Trust them,” she told the group. “For me, I would know after I didn’t trust my instincts that my instinct was correct, but I was too fearful to use it.”

Since Destiny’s Child has disbanded, Williams has gone on to have a successful solo career as a gospel artist. She has expanded her portfolio to theater, becoming the first African American to play the role of Roxie Hart in the hit musical “Chicago” and starring as Shug Avery in the touring company of the musical “The Color Purple,” and taking the lead role in Aida three separate times. Williams is also a minority owner in the WNBA team the Chicago Sky and launched her Believe bedding collection on EVINE in 2015.

Notre Dame Executive Vice President John Affleck-Graves encouraged those in attendance to heed Williams’ advice and to believe in their ability to contribute something positive. “There are times in all of our lives when we don’t feel that we have confidence. If that happens to you, don’t feel strange. You’re not unique in that,” he said. “But do speak up because we need your voice. You make us better when you speak up.”

Karrah Miller, director of the Office of Institutional Equity and Title IX coordinator, said she was excited to see such a wide cross-section of campus stakeholders in attendance at the event and committed to helping the University work toward a more equitable environment.

“There’s a difference in having a seat at the table and having a voice at the table,” Miller said. ‘What we’re striving for here at the University of Notre Dame is that everyone’s voice is valued — whether you work in building services or you’re a vice president, you work with our students or you flip burgers. It doesn’t matter what part of campus you come from, what walk of life you come from, you are valued here.”

Michelle Williams will be apart of the Chicago Gospel Music Festival in a panel discussion on May 18th at 6:30pm. The event is free and will take place at the Chicago Cultural Center. Michelle will be joined by labelmate Lalah Hathaway and music executive Phil Thornton.

Chicago Gospel Music Festival Presents: Up Close & Personal Preview Concert and Conversation

In a conversation moderated by Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child, recording artist Lalah Hathaway and Phil Thornton, vice president and general manager of Urban Inspiration | Entertainment One Music, attendees will have the opportunity to ask about the artists’ dynamic careers and how they might follow in the artists’ footsteps. The event, presented in partnership with The Recording Academy will also feature performances from festival artists.

Did you catch Destiny’s Child’s Michelle Williams riding in the Advance Auto Parts’ Pothole Dummy car on Friday? If not, watch the clip, “Michelle Williams Rolls with Pothole Dummy” about her experience hitting the Chicago streets with Second City performer Daniel Strauss in their search for the biggest, baddest potholes in the city. The car was definitely “Jumpin’ Jumpin’” from all of the potholes hit over the course of five days – 1,110 total to be exact.

Advance Auto Parts kicked off a program called Pothole Dummy in Chicago from April 4-8 – putting a custom-wrapped car on the city’s streets and tasking the driver with hitting as many potholes as possible over the week to draw attention to vehicle pothole damage – as well as providing insights to consumers on how to prevent that damage from getting out of hand. In fact, AAA recently reported that pothole damage over the past five years has put U.S. drivers in the hole by $15 billion.

Did you miss Michelle Williams second appearance on the Steve Harvey Show? If so, we got you covered! Check out the clips of Michelle’s appearance with Steve’s all-star panel including Judy Gold and Kim Gavel.

Steve’s all-star panel, including JUDY GOLD (comedian and host of the podcast “Kill Me Now”), MICHELLE WILLIAMS (Grammy-winning artist from Destiny’s Child) and KIM GRAVEL (host of “Gravel Mail” on Sirius XM), tackled outrageous stories that have recently made headlines. The Panel talked about whether rapper Kanye West is ruining the Kardashian name.

Some of the Duggar clan is headed back to TV after the series “19 Kids and Counting” was canceled due to a sex scandal involving brother Josh Duggar. Sisters Jill and Jess Duggar are working on their own show, ” Jill and Jess: Counting On.” The panel took on whether the family should be allowed back on tv.